‘Unrivaled’ to be Screened in Sewanee on Nov. 4
by Bailey Basham, Messenger Staff Writer
More than 120 years in the making, makers of the documentary on Sewanee’s historic 1899 football team are ready to share the project.
“Unrivaled” is the ultimate David and Goliath story, according to the project’s official website, and the film tells the story of the legendary Sewanee Tigers from 1899 who achieved the unthinkable.
The story goes that in the year 1899, the Sewanee Tigers football team boarded a train for a six day, 2,500-mile trip, during which they were scheduled to play five games against some of today’s college football favorites. At the end of the trip, broken and exhausted, the team returned to the Mountain having outscored opponents Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Tulane and Ole Miss 322–10.
Norman Jetmundsen, class of 1976, said he and several other alumni have been working on the film for almost five years. The team includes David Crews, C’76, Kate Gillespie, C’97, Lloyd Lochridge, C’12, Amelia Koch, C’13, and Alana Hogg, a seasoned web and graphic designer.
“We have been editing and fine tuning the film, trying to get the very best [pieces of the story] weaved together in a seamless narrative, which has been a long process. To be close to the end now is very satisfying. We have had many donors who have supported and encouraged us, and we appreciate that they took a leap of faith in donating money in the belief that our film will be worthwhile. We have had many others at Sewanee and elsewhere who have contributed in various ways to the film, and it is gratifying to have this kind of support and to see it coming to fruition,” Jetmundsen said.
Throughout the research and filmmaking process, Jetmundsen said the story of the football team continued to reveal itself, with surprises around every corner.
“When we started, we thought we’d find a lot of lore about the team, but we found a lot of amazing facts and stories to back up the lore. We uncovered the first photograph of a Sewanee football game, which was Sewanee vs. Tennessee in Chattanooga in 1891. We also found a photo of a game in 1899, which was a photo of the Sewanee vs. Texas game,” Jetmundsen said. “In the process, we realized if we had not done this film now, much of this would have been lost to history and forgotten by the next generation. Instead, we are preserving an important part of Sewanee history, as well as Southern history and college football history.”
The filmmakers also learned more about Cal Burrows, the team’s invaluable African American trainer and the unsung hero of the story.
“Remarkably, someone researching the archives at Sewanee came across a student’s scrapbook, which contained a photo of Cal that is the only known photograph of him,” he said.
A particularly special part of the film will be its sound track which is being created and recorded by Bobby Horton, a musician known nationally for his work on several of the acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns’ films.
“Another unique part of our film is that we have about a dozen original paintings for our film done primarily by Ernie Eldridge, which add a rich and unique dimension to our film,” Jetmundsen said. “We hope that everyone who sees the film will have a new appreciation for what this team accomplished, that they will learn a great deal they didn’t know, that everyone will appreciate this part of history being preserved, and that they will be inspired by the character, grit and resilience of the players.”
A sneak preview of the film will be shown in Sewanee at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 4, in Guerry Auditorium. The official premiere will be held at 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. For more information about the film or to see the first official trailer, visit <https://sewanee1899.org>;.